Keynote Speakers

We are very excited to feature these keynote speakers at the 2019 Cathedral Ministry Conference:

Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory

The Hungers of a Wealthy People: The Eucharistic Bread of LifeThe Celebration of the Eucharist seeks to satisfy the hungers of the human heart in ways that no mere food can ever achieve. When we come to Mass, we discover just how hungry we are for the things that so often go unnoticed in our daily lives – spiritual yearnings that are far too important to be neglected or ignored.

Archbishop Wilton Gregory has served in many leading roles in the U.S. church. In November 2001, he was elected president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops following three years as vice president. He currently serves as the chair of the USCCB Committee on Divine Worship. Archbishop Gregory has written extensively on church issues, including pastoral statements on the death penalty, euthanasia/physician-assisted suicide and has published numerous articles on the subject of liturgy, particularly in the African-American community.

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Diana Macalintal and Nick Wagner

The Cathedral as the Mother and Model for Making Disciples“Bishops are the chief stewards of the mysteries of God and leaders of the entire liturgical life in the Church committed to them” (General Introduction: Christian Initiation, 12). As “mother church” of a diocese, the Cathedral holds a vital role in the bishop’s work of directing the way we initiate seekers into these mysteries. In this keynote, we will explore the challenges and rewards of a Cathedral catechumenate ministry that can serve as the diocesan model for making disciples.

Nick Wagner and Diana Macalintal are the founders and codirectors of TeamRCIA.com, a free online resource for catechumenate ministry, which they began in 2007 from their home in San Jose, California. TeamRCIA assists parish ministers to convert hearts to Jesus Christ through parish initiation ministry by helping them build thriving parishes, break free of “the way we’ve always done it,” and go way beyond their perceived limits to be inspired and inspiring. Today TeamRCIA is a community of over 20,000 parish ministers and volunteers throughout North America and beyond. Through the website, live training institutes, and a series of books published in partnership with Liturgical Press, TeamRCIA provides accessible and effective RCIA resources that help parish teams form disciples for Christ’s mission.

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Father Dave Dwyer, CSP

Leaving the Upper Room: How the Church Needs to Reach Out to the Millennial GenerationAt Pentecost the first disciples were propelled forth by the Spirit, from the comfort and tight-knit community of the Upper Room out into the world to evangelize. Do our cathedral ministries embrace Pope Francis’ call to remember that “Jesus is the Lord of risk, of the eternal ‘more,’ not the Lord of comfort, security and ease” (WYD 2016). How can we leave our comfortable Upper Rooms (even virtually!) to make connections with a generation that has shown that they will not come knock on our door? Fr. Dave will speak about how we can be more proactive in reaching young adults.

Fr. Dave Dwyer, CSP is a Paulist priest and director of Busted Halo Ministries, publisher of BustedHalo.com and YoungAdultMinistryInaBox.com, host of the “Sacraments 101” videos and “The Busted Halo Show” every afternoon on SiriusXM radio. He has appeared on CNN, Fox News, NBC News, Entertainment Tonight and The Daily Show. He worked in campus ministry at the Universities of Colorado and Texas. Prior to ordination he directed television for MTV and Comedy Central.